GAINESVILLE, Fla. — To this point, LSU has not lived up to its early-season billing under new coach Jay Johnson.
The Tigers (15-7, 1-3 Southeastern Conference) have struggled at the plate against quality pitching. But in three of its past five losses, LSU has been within striking distance, just a few pitches or a few plays away from victory.
During last weekend’s SEC-opening series against Texas A&M, the Tigers tied both of the first two games in the eighth inning before losing late. In a loss to Louisiana Tech on Wednesday, LSU tied the score in the fifth inning, captured a lead in the sixth and maintained it until the top of the ninth. Louisiana Tech tied it and won 7-6 in 12 innings.
But in their series opener against Florida (17-5, 3-1) on Friday night, the Tigers were just outmatched.
“The reality is, they’re better than we are right now,” Johnson said after Friday’s game. “So, the only way we’re going to beat them is to play better on a given day.”
That’s part of the process when adjusting to a new coach, Johnson said — particularly at the plate.
Most players have made incremental changes to their swings and their approach at the plate under Johnson, who wants his hitters to be more efficient, swinging at fewer balls and placing top priority on getting on base.
That was best executed in Sunday’s 7-6 win against Texas A&M, when LSU did a better job driving runners home rather than knocking solo homers, as it had the previous two days. After the 7-2 loss to Florida on Friday, Johnson said the team was still adjusting to his way of coaching.
“Yes, absolutely — it’s a big adjustment,” Johnson said.
And the Gators are better — especially on the mound.
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Left-hander Hunter Barco and right-hander Brandon Sproat are both among the top 100 MLB draft prospects, according to MLB Pipeline.
Johnson added pitchers from the transfer portal to add depth to LSU’s staff this year, including right-handers Eric Reyzelman (San Francisco) and Bryce Collins (Arizona) and left-handers Riley Cooper (Arizona) and Trey Shaffer (Southeastern Louisiana). But none of them are as electric as Barco or Sproat. Not yet, anyway.
“We don’t have a first-round or second-round draft pick on this pitching staff for this draft or the next draft right now,” Johnson said Monday.
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Source: https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/sports/lsu/article_30e4e9da-ad30-11ec-90bd-43c34849ab71.html
